It’s Halloween in Bushwick which means… no appropriative clothing, responsible raving, and dressing more outlandishly than typical. Live your best fantasy babies. And do it in Bushwick.
Friday, October 25 – Susanne Bartsch’s MoMA PS1 Halloween Ball Afterparty: Valley of the Dolls at Elsewhere, 11pm
What, you thought you were going to bed early tonight? Absolutely not.
After the intimidible Susanne Bartsch’s Halloween Ball at MoMA PS1, where plenty of queer *freaks* (we all know that word has been taken back) dressed in their finest Halloween attire, comes the afterparty. While the PS1 event is likely sold out, the ball will bring a collection of otherworldly, Barbarella-esque costumed attendees to Elsewhere. This all-night event also doubles as a Halloween party for those neighborhood-bound, cash-strapped Brooklynites.
The event lineup includes DJs from the queer community, like BK-based Amber Valentine, live performances from drag artists including Neon Calypso, and hosts from legendary current-era club kids, Ryan Burke and House of Femanon.
It’s bawdy. It’s campy. It’s Halloween. It’s Bartsch. It’s you.
Warehouse of Horrors at Knockdown Center, 9pm (event continues Saturday)
Warehouse of Horrors could easily be written off as another festival-style Halloween for amateurs – but it may just surprise you. This event, produced by the BangOn crew who run Elements Festival and the fall BangOnNYC festival includes top-tier DJs from the broader edge of electronic music, (hink lead Dirty Bird player Claude vonStroke and album-dubsteppers The Glitch Mob).
The event features an assorted crew of otherworldly performances beyond your wildest dreams, including circus acts, pagan rituals, and fire dancers. Pair this with immersive spaces and digital projection mapping, the two day event will plunk you deep into a Halloween dream. It’s a mainstream event that utilizes avant-garde and installation-style of our local tribes.
Saturday, October 26 – Cityfox Halloween at Avant Gardner, 9pm
They say the freaks come out on Halloween. If that’s true, you can expect to find them at Avant Gardner, a massive event that we would be remiss not to mention. This $100 ticket may seem like the spookiest thing on your Saturday night – until you meet the costume masses acting out on their most depraved, or fantastical selves.
That said, the hordes will arrive to the world-famous Avant Gardner for a huge list of international stars hailing from the now late-stage European minimal melodic house trend. We here at the Bushwick Nightly are suckers for the acid-tinged melodia that scringed our little techno hearts back in the day.
Highlights for this event include live performances from German minimal king Stimming and duo WhoMadeWho, the electro-based stylings of Spanish Gui Borrato, and DJ performances from All Day I Dream’s Lee Burridge and the genre-defining duo that is Art Department.
The party lasts until 9am, so you have plenty of time to watch people come and go, leaving their assorted costume props behind. Plus you’ll enjoy the extra space on the dance floor once the sun crests over the late October sky.
Wednesday October 30 – Cybertron Halloween Edition with The Long Losts at Knitting Factory, 10pm
There are few holidays more goth than Halloween. So lean into the feeling – whether you’re living your best life or stepping outside of your comfort zone (and onto the black lipstick, bat-filled zone.) For the gothiest event of them all, your best bet is VampireFreaks.
VampireFreaks is the world’s largest network for goth and dark alternative. They throw conventions, host a seemingly 2003-era online forum, and give parties for both the community and curious. Since it’s Halloween, the spook factor is up, with darkwave and industrial goth DJs at the Knitting Factory from 10pm until the clock strikes 3am. There will also be a live performance by The Long Losts, a romantic goth punk duo whose ghostly black Victorian style permeates their sonic and visual aesthetic. It’s a dance macabre, dress the part.
Thursday, October 31 (Halloween Night) – The Spectrum Halloween: The Other-Ship at Nowadays, 10pm
We at Bushwick Nightly will always, always be down for a Spectrum party. The multi-iteration, often-Bushwick, always-LGBTQIA+ first party will host a Halloween extravaganza at Nowadays. Don’t mind that the holiday falls on a Thursday — they’re still going to bring the party until 8am.
The 10 hour raver themes itself with alien-specificity for transworld travel and transnational life. Launch yourself into outer space on Halloween, without getting too far from home. Music will be spacey, yet heavy with favorites from your Bushwick queer party circuit like the breaks-y A Village Raid and industrial-leaning Ne/Re/A.
HauntedHop at Knockdown Center, 7pm
Halloween punk? Yes, you heard it. The Knockdown gets taken over on Hallow’s Eve by honest-to-badness punks from the world over. What’s more punk than a resurrection? Tonight NY Night Train parties resurrect the “maximum rock and roll” – often found in the 80s and DIY parties from a garage in Leeds. With John Waters vibes, featuring smashed up horror films, cob-webbed rooms, punk rock dancery, and a 1am costume contest.
Bands include DC indie punk legends The Make Up, the art rock n’ roll of Quintron & Miss Pussycat, and 70’s Irish garage punkers The Protox. It’s unlike anything other parties of late – you’ll want to join for a spirit filled Hallow’s Eve. And who’s to say the spirit isn’t the spirit of (RIP) punk?
Header image courtesy of Pixabay
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